London & Paris....

[Fly me with Balloons]

No, I am not looking for advice on how to name a female child so that she will resent me in the future, I want travel advice.

Looking to take my wife on a getaway 1st week of April next year. I know nothing about where to stay, travel agencies, etc...

any help would be appreciated!

 

[Laura]

Where to stay depends on your budget. I've been a super-budget traveler on my past trips to the UK and Paris (like a youth-hostel-poor-college-student type of budget for most of them), so I can't really help with recommending specific hotels. The other issue is location. There's all kinds of hotels in both cities; I would make sure you're near both cities' central subway (London Underground/Paris Metro) stations for touring convenience. I book my own trips, too, so I don't know about travel agencies except the online ones.

See www.tripadvisor.com www.fodors.com and www.ricksteves.com for help.

 

[WeirdEyes]

I can help you with a hotel in London. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Mayfair in June. It was very convenient and for London, a good price....around $200/night. You'll love England....never been to France so I can't help you with that one. Have a great time!

 

[QT Pooh]

Paris is a great walking city with a great metro system as well (same with London!). It all depends on where you want to visit when you go there. If you want to be near the Champs-Elysees, it's going to be more expensive than staying in Montmartre or Montparnasse, for example. We stayed at the Madeleine Hotel in 2001, which is in the 8th Arondissement, 2 blocks away from the Champs-Elysees. It was nothing fancy, but a good location, right at a Metro station with the Roissy bus stop (to take you to the airport) nearby. I think we paid maybe $80/night (it was a business trip so I didn't pay too much attention). The Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay are a nice walk.

 

[lowie]

::::::OT:::::: fly me with balloons.... is that from howard stern?

 

[Fly me with Balloons]

Thank you for your help! We are looking for rooms approx. $200/night. In Paris, I was thinking the Latin Quarter, not sure in London. I am still VERY early in my information gathering. Thanks again, & any more help would be appreciated. Trying to find a place to book a package, not sure if it is cheaper to do it that way, or each thing individually via travelocity.

As for the Stern reference, ABSOLUTELY!!!

Been a fan for 20 years. Every day I listen, there are at least 3 times I laugh so hard I cry!

 

[beachbunny]

You've got lots of time and the internet at your fingers. You can save a lot of money booking on your own.

With the present exchange rate, you won't get much, hotel-wise for $200/night. The best hotel in that price range is the Cranley. It's more like a large B&B (without the second B) located on a quiet residential street. The rooms are very nice. The Cranley is about two blocks from a tube entrance. If it's in your budget, the best hotel in London is the Renaissance Chancery Court - absolute luxury! And it's right next to a tube entrance.

Purchase your tube ticket (via the internet) before leaving home. There's a discounted ticket they don't sell in England.

Be sure to catch Mary Poppins on stage in London. It's great!

Have a romantic dinner at Rules.

Have tea at the Ritz (it's so huge that if you book a late time, you can make it dinner)!

Take a 1/2 hour turn on the London Eye, visit the British Museum, the V&A, and the London Museum. See the Tower of London.

You can either fly or eurostar it between London and Paris. BMI has been having some great fares lately and it's faster to fly - besides, if you took the eurostar, there's nothing to see once you enter the chunnel.

If you want to spend a day or two at DLP, there's a shuttle from CDG direct to to Disneyland.

Absolute tons more to see and do but I'll stop here. Have fun planning!

 

[mushumadness]

If you fancy something other than the crowded city of london why dont you try places such as York (historic town) etc or the coastal uk they are all lovely too.